Improvement in automatic toy dancers



H. L. BRIOWER.

Automatic 'ToyDancers.

110,143,121, Patented September 23,1873.

\Wngmu 3 X Ms %@ww UNITED STATES PATENT Orrron.

HENRY L. BItOWER, OF N EWV YGRK, ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPHINE DEF. BROWER,

OF YONKERS, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT LN AUTQMATIC TOY DANCERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 143,121, datedSeptember 23, 1873; application filed July 22, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, H. L. BROWER, of New York city, in the State of NewYork, have invented certain Improvements relating to Automatic Toys, ofwhich the following is a specification:

1 provide a figure, representing a negro or other dancer, with flexiblejoints, and mount it on a lever operated by clock-work, and I provide aspring which balances, or partly balances, the weight .on such lever. Inthe preferable form, the figure is adjustable at various inclinations onthe lever, and the lever is detachable, and the whole apparatus adaptedto fold into a small compass.

The following is a description of what I consider the best means ofcarrying out the invention.

The accompanying drawing forms a part of this specification, and is aside elevation, partly in section. The clothing of one leg of the danceris broken away to show the construction of the joint.

' In the drawing, A is a flooring, and B an upright board, connected toA by the hinges a, and supported in the upright position by theremovable braces b. M is a toy figure. Thejoints of the knees and thethighs, as also, preferably, of the arms, are formed by drivin g twointerlocked staples into the respective pieces of wood, as indicated bym m. This gives not only great freedom of bending, but also liberty inthe several parts to twist to the extent of about a quarter of a circle.The operating-lever G is of spring-brass or other highly elasticmaterial, and is flattened, so that it can swing in the vertical plane.It is formed with a head, which is received in a socket, m, in the backof the figure M, and is held therein by the metal at the mouth of thesocket being compressed together. The figure should be capable ofturning on the lever 0, care being taken to fix the socket mconsiderably above the center of gravity, so that it will alwaysmaintain an approximately vertical position. I provide a strongmainsprin g, with gearing and an escapement-wheel, denoted,collectively, by the single letter G,

' with means for winding up the spring. The

escapement-wheel acts on a pallet or verge,

D, hung in the framing of the clock-work,

which carries a socket, D in which the lever G is received and held. Italso has an arm, D which is acted on by a long and highly elastic coiledspring, E. The clock-work and the casing which inoloses it are fixed onthe back face of the board B, the lever 0 playing through a narrow slotin said board. The clock-work is inclosed within a removable casing, H,which engages and disengages by means of hooks h, which match intospaces provided on the back of the board B.

To pack the toy 'for transportation, the braces b are detached from theboard B, pref erably leaving them attached to the flooring A, and onremoving the lever G from the socket D the board 13 and the braces b arereadily folded down upon the floor, when the figure M and the lever G,still remaining detached, may be laid thereupon, and the whole inclosedin paper or a shallow box.

To adjust the toy for use, the board B is turned upright and braced, thelever O insorted in the socket, where it holds itself by a spring-catch,and the clock-work wound up .by an ordinary key. This done, the dancerwill commence to operate, employing the weight of the figure Mas a sortof vertical pendulum, acting, by its inertia, to preserve a proper speedin the motion, while the tension of the spring E counteracts the gravityof the figure, and allows the escapement D G to vibrate the figure upand down.

The springcatch on the lever Ois formed by folding a portion of thematerial back upon itself, as indicated by O, and shaping it, bymachinery or otherwise, with a small projection, to engage in a hole inthe upper side of the socket D To remove the lever O and itsconnections, the end 0 must be pinched down or pressed toward the leverG.

Several conditions are important to the highest success. The head of thefigure should be jointed to the trunk with aslight rubber or otherspring, to hold it up. The lever 0 should be elastic, and the force ofthe mainspring should be sufiicient to give the figure an active jumpingmotion,with a descenta little more rapid than is due to gravity alone.

I claim as my improvement in automatic dancing toys- 1. The horizontalspring-lever (3, connected to the figure M, in combination withclockwork G, substantially as herein specified.

2. The balance-spring E, in' combination with the dancing figure,connecting spring-1ever, and operative mechanism, as herein speeified.

3. The dancing figure M, having staple or loose-locking joints m m andoperated by clock-work esoapement, a spring-1ever,0, and abalance-spring, substantially as herein specifie 4. The folding frame Aa B b and detachable lever O, in combination with each other and with adancing figure, M, and clock-work G, as herein specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of July,1873, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY L. BROWER.

Witnesses: ALFD. WESTBROOK, W. O. DEY.

